Nia Long is continuing to finalize her split from ex-fiance Ime Udoka in the wake of his infidelity scandal and is seeking full custody of their son.
Following Udoka’s messy cheating scandal that put his relationship and job in jeopardy, Long is asking the Los Angeles County Court to grant her sole physical and legal custody of their son, Kez, The Blast
reports. Long’s celebrity attorney, Samantha Spector, filed the petition to “determine a parental relationship” since the former couple never got around to tying the knot.In addition to full custody, “The Best Man” star wants Udoka to cover all her legal expenses. Her filing appears to be the start of a custody battle that could see her receiving child support from the Houston Rockets head coach.
The filing comes nearly one year since Udoka’s cheating scandal that got him fired as the Boston Celtics head coach and ended his 13-year relationship with Long. The Celtics released a statement at the time confirming Udoka, a former NBA player turned head coach, for violating the team’s code of conduct by engaging in an “intimate and conceptual relationship with a female member of the Celtics’s staff.”
Udoka issued a statement at the time apologizing to his family and team for “letting them down.”
“I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment,” he said last September.
In December 2022, Long opened up about the split and shared how their son handled the news after the Celtics made the affair public.
“He still
has moments where it’s not easy for him,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.”“No one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK, It’s very disappointing,” she added.
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